Previous Queue

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)- Before the Devil knows your dead has a really cool and fun story, and is depicted in a unique and compelling manner. It stars the always wonderful Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Andy Hanson, and Ethan Hawke as Hank Hanson who play brothers. Andy coaxes Hank into a seemingly simple plan to rob a small town jewelery store; the store was owned by there parents. When the "perfect" crime goes wrong there are consequences for the Hanson brothers. Although the plot of the movie is good, the major strong points are the directing (directed by Sidney Lumet) and acting. The way the scenes unfold, in a non-chronological order with constant jumping from the personal experiences and feelings of each individual character, kept the movie moving and suspenseful. Hoffman and Hawke were great as well as the rest of the cast. A really intense and fun movie. 3 1/2 stars.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)- Dog Day Afternoon is considered a classic movie and deservedly so. Sonny (Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) step into a bank with plans for a short and harmless robbery. What could have been this short painless robbery turned into an all day, high stress, hostage situation and a media frenzy. Sonny, a homosexual, needs the money to pay for his wife Leon's (Chris Sarandon) sex change operation. Al Pacino is fantastic in his role as the brains of the operation. There are constant negotiations and demands going back and forth between the robbers and the cops and the confrontations are great scenes. A mass of people stood outside the bank watching as Sonny would periodically come out to rile them up. One must appreciate films that are set almost completely in one place yet can keep you engrossed and entertained. I really loved this movie; 4 stars.

Tell No One (2006)- Tell No One , or Ne le dis à personne in french, is based on the best selling mystery-thriller novel by Harlan Coben. Eight years after the murder of his wife, where he was the prime suspect but let off, new evidence pops of in the case that points to the guilt of main character Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet). The intensity heightens when Beck gets a number of emails that seem point to the possibility that his late wife was still alive. Tell No One is action packed and keeps you thinking throughout. There is also a lot of emotion in the movie. As with all good mysteries the ending is great. It is a truly captivating film and can, nay, should be seen by any type of movie viewer. 3 1/2 stars. (It is in French with English subtitles which just adds to it in my opinion)

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are depicts the famous and immortal classic children's book by Maurice Sendak. Being that the book is rather succinct in pages and words, director Spike Jonze expands on it using his fabulous imagination. The movie begins showing Max, the protagonist, displaying some of his unique characteristics. Max he is very imaginative but also has a lot of anger. One night Max and his single mother get into a fight and Max runs away. After a tumultuous journey across the sea, Max reaches the island of where the wild things roam. He is soon after made their king and then "the wild rumpus" began. Through different experiences and occurrences we see the development of Max as a character as well as the monsters under his rule. The island and the wild things greatly resemble Max's thoughts and life in the real world. Jonze chooses to make a serious movie rather than a light children's film. He succeeds in bringing out the kid side of you but also makes you think. As Andrew Rosenfeld said, "I just couldn't stop smiling throughout the movie." The voice work and costumes were superb. Max (Max Records) was wonderful. Well directed and an overall good movie. I give it 3 stars because it just didn't leap out as an amazing movie; I expected to be blown away. I recommend it to true movie lovers but I somewhat understand why some people are calling it a bit boring and trivial.

Paranormal Activity

For all the hype given to Paranormal Activity, I was not as terrified as I expected. From a cinematic perspective the movie is very original and cleverly made. The whole film is shot on the couple's home video camera. The movie shows the story of a young couple, Micah and Katie, who after moving into a new home are experiencing bizarre and horrifying encounters with the unknown. During the night on the video camera we see subtle things that happen. These occurrences and demonic activities intensify as the movie progresses. I thought that for much of the time it was a little boring because there was a lot of build up for small things that weren't so scary. I must say though, by the end of the movie you are pretty legitimately scared. The movie is also made more scary because it is supposedly based on a true story (whatever that means), which always adds a real edge to a horror flick. I give it 2 1/2 stars because I just didn't get the thrill I anticipated. However, if you are looking to rent a horror movie I reccomend this over a lot of the other crappy horror movies out there.